Toomey, Manchin Unveil Background Check Package

Sen. Pat Toomey and his Democratic colleague Joe Manchin of West Virginia Wednesday unveiled a legislative proposal to subject more gun purchases to background checks.

“Candidly, I don’t consider criminal background checks to be gun control. I think it’s just common sense,” Toomey said.

Both acknowledged that today’s announcement was the beginning of a longer process.

“I’ve not taken a very high profile role on this issue,” Toomey said. “What became apparent to me in the course of this debate, there is the danger that we might end up accomplishing nothing, and not making progress where we could.”

“Today is just the start of a healthy debate that must end with the Senate and House hopefully passing these common sense measures, and the President signing it into law,” Manchin said.

The details of the proposal are forthcoming, but the broad strokes are these: the bill would require anyone purchasing guns at a gun show or online to pass a background check. it would not affect private sales.

The bill contains some incentives for gun rights advocates, including loosening rules for transporting guns across state lines and for members of the military to purchase firearms more freely.

Both Manchin and Toomey said the bill could serve as a foundation for eventually enacting universal reciprocity for concealed carry permits nationwide.

At present, some estimate that upwards of 40% gun sales occur without a background check. That includes John Shick, the man who went on a 2012 shooting spree at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh.

The bill would impact firearm sales at gun shows and online, but it’s not clear whether the Manchin-Toomey bill would have prevented someone like Shick from obtaining his firearms. Manchin said the proposal specifically does not include a requirement for checks on individual gun sales.

The two must navigate a difficult political issue, and one over which Senators are already divided.

Several conservative Republican Senators have promised a filibuster against any gun-related legislation. Some red-state Democrats may join them. Liberal Democratic Senators are pushing for more stringent gun rules, but a handful of blue-state Republicans have said they would vote for cloture on a limited, background checks-only bill.

The National Rifle Association pooh-poohed the idea of background checks in general, but did not mention the Toomey-Manchin proposal specifically.

“Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools. While the overwhelming rejection of President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg’s ‘universal’ background check agenda is a positive development, we have a broken mental health system that is not going to be fixed with more background checks at gun shows,” the release said. “The sad truth is that no background check would have prevented the tragedies in Newtown, Aurora or Tucson.”

“The worries that we hear sometimes about background checks leading to an erosion of our second amendment rights – that simply hasn’t happened. And we’ve got to make sure that it doesn’t.”

The Senate will debate the measure over the next week or two and Democratic leadership has given assurances that they will allow Republicans to offer numerous amendments. The Manchin-Toomey bill would be the first amendment offered.

And that’s before it reaches the GOP-controlled House, where opposition is likely to be even tougher.

Toomey said he’s spoken to several members of Congress from Pa. and they – especially those in eastern Pa. – seemed supportive of the proposal.

The bill is a major priority for President Barack Obama, who vowed action in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting. But to sustain the possibility of passing any gun legislation, Obama and other Democrats have had to scale back the scope of their efforts. Gone, for example, are calls for a politically difficult assault weapons ban.

9 thoughts on “Toomey, Manchin Unveil Background Check Package”

Wow, my first comment was deleted. Hardly extreme and in keeping with the rest of the comments here.
Toomey has abandoned the voters who put him in office, it’s that simple. He will be primaried over this.

Toomey is just the latest in a long line of politicans who tout their principles and conservatism to get elected. Once they are there in DC, their only principle is getting reelected and they sit around reading polls all day and trying to figure out how to position themselves based on the polls. Primary him. If you will not stand firm in defending the constitution, we might as well have a liberal Democrat.

I truly feel for these people who have lost loved ones. It is devestating to have to endure such pain. But I do not support universal background checks. I am a 26 yr old disabled woman. I am just trying to protect my constitutional right to bare arms. I feel like I must defend myself from my own government! The possability of universal background checks leads to a possability of a universal gun registry and is not worth the risk

Please don’t use the “40% of gun sales with no background check” figure. It’s an outdated, inaccurate number that has been thoroughly debunked by both John Lott and the Washington Post. The real number is probably closer to 10%.